Tag: religion
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Emmaus
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On our last day, we walked the Stations of the Cross in the Old Town before breakfast and then loaded the bus for the airport in Tel Aviv. On the way we stopped at Emmaus for our final Eucharist together. While the site of Emmaus (also known as Nicopolis) is…
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Mount of Beatitudes
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From Tabgha, one can ascend the Mount of the Beatitudes where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. Overlooking the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, the Mount offers a view of the northern part of the lake and across to the cliffs of the Golan Heights on the other side.…
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Nazareth
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West of the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River is the town of Nazareth, the largest Arab city in Israel. It is the city the Holy Family lived in when they returned from Egypt. Several religious sites are here. We were able to visit Mary’s Well, the Greek and…
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Burqin and Taybeh
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Leaving Nazareth, we went to Burqin and Taybeh. Jesus passed through Burqin on his way to Jerusalem from Nazareth. As he was passing through, he heard the cries of ten lepers who were quarantined in a cave. He healed them all, but only one returned to give thanks. Burqin hosts…
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Bethlehem
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Bethlehem is a West Bank City about five miles south of Jerusalem in the Judean hills. This is the town of Jesus’ birth. Tradition locates the site of his birth in a cave under the Church of the Nativity. St. Helena, Constantine’s mother, had a church built over the cave about 326 CE,…
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The Jordan River
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Another of the special places we visited was the River Jordan where Jesus was baptized. There we renewed our own baptismal vows, and one of our members who had never been baptized was. It was so renewing and inspiring. The River Jordan runs along the entire eastern border of Israel. It’s distance from…
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Mt. Zion–St. Peter in Gallicantu
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To the south of the Mt. of Olives and the city of Jerusalem is another hill: Mt. Zion. Between them lies the Kidron Valley. On the eastern slope of Mt. Zion is the Church of St. Peter in Gallicaantu. It is only a short distance from Zion Gate of the Old City. This…
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The Sea of Galilee, Capernaum, Tabgha
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The Sea of Galilee is not a sea but a freshwater lake in northeast Israel. At 656 ft. below sea level, it is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth. It is fed mainly by the Jordan River which runs through it. Much of Jesus’ ministry occurred on its shores. And…
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Mount of Olives
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The Mount of Olives is a mountain ridge about a half mile east of Jerusalem. From the top looking west, one sees views of the Holy City, while facing eastward one sees miles of the Judean Desert leading to the Dead Sea. Several holy sites are located on and around the…
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Mt. Scopus and Herodium
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There is so many archeological sites in the area that date back thousands of years. Mt Scopus stands about 2,700 ft above sea level northeast of Jerusalem. Because of its height and location, it was called Lookout Mountain. It has been a strategic location as a base to attack Jerusalem…
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Judean Desert and Biet Sahur
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While the distance from Nazareth to Bethlehem across the desert is only about 70 mile, scholars suspect that the route Mary and Joseph took was closer to ninety miles. Part of that route went through the Judean Desert. We headed to the desert before sunrise. As I looked at the…
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The Church of the Holy Sepulcher or Church of the Redeemer
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For Christians, this church the singularly most important site in Jerusalem. It dates from the fourth century CE and has been a pilgrimage site since then. According to tradition, it contains the sites of Jesus’ crucifixion and his tomb and resurrection. It has 30+ chapels and worship spaces, so we did not…
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The Land of the Holy One
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Israel Today We left for the Land of the Holy One (Israel) two weeks before the war started; little did we know at the time what lay ahead. We returned 5 days before the Hamas attack. Travel was difficult. Several of us on the flight from Seattle missed the connection to Tel…
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Swyambhumath Temple
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The Monkey Temple The Swayabhunath temple is on the top of a steep hill. There are stairs to climb to the top; we were driven part way but still had many stairs to climb. This is a place of peace. It is one of the holiest Buddhist places in Nepal, and it has…
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Changu Narayan Temple
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Changu Nrayan Temple was built in the 3rd century and is considered to be one of, if not, the oldest temple of Nepal. In 464,King Mandev erected a stone pillar in the temple’s courtyard in Sanskrit. This inscription is considered to be the oldest inscription of Nepal. The temple represents…
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Pashupatinath Temple
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Pashupatinath Temple is a famous and sacred Hindu temple complex located on the Bagmati River that runs through Kathmandu. This temple complex is the largest in Nepal covering 608 acres of land. It includes 518 temples and monuments, as well as a cremation site. The main temple is dedicated to Pashupatinath, a…
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Boudhanath Temple
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Built in the 6th century, the Boudhanath Temple is the biggest stupa in Nepal and a witness to Tibetan Buddhism. It is one of the most revered Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Nepal. The structure of the building consists of a giant dome, on the top of which sits a Buddhist pyramid tower.…
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Tiger’s Nest
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On the last day of our Bhutan tour, we returned to Paro where Bob took the challenge to hike part way to the Tiger’s Nest Monastery. Tiger’s Nest Monastery or Taktsang Palphug Monastery is what most people associate with Bhutan. It is the monastery that you see in pictures, clinging…
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Thimphu
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Thimphu is the capital of Bhutan and its largest city. It is situated on the Raidak River at an altitude varying from 7,375 ft.to 8,688 ft. Thimphu became the capital of Bhutan in 1961 during the reign of the third Druk Gyalpo (Dragon King), Jigme Dorji Wangchuck. Before that, the capital…
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Punakha
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There’s only one main highway in Bhutan. It is two lanes, narrow, and very windy, running from west to east toconnect all of the country’s major cities, including Paro, Thimphu, and Punakha. Between the cities it goes through beautiful forested country at times and rice paddies at other times. Often…